


Hair Tie That Binds

by midnight_marimba



Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: After Act 3, Erik partially repressing his bad opinion of Jasper, Erik's mediocre improv skills, Friendship, Gen, Heist, Hendrik Is Not Good At Reading People, Hendrik’s Pun Journal, Hendrik’s good opinion of Jasper, Implied Luminerik, In Fact Hendrik Is Not Good At People, Is Erik Actually Any Better At People?, canon-friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25715725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_marimba/pseuds/midnight_marimba
Summary: Maybe there was another way.  One more thing he hadn’t tried.  One more thing that had a chance to work without getting out of hand.  It was risky, and wildly out of character for him, and if Druzy hadn’t taken something that didn’t belong to her, he would never have considered it.Hendrik loses something precious enough to make him consider questionably legal solutions.  He turns to Erik for help.
Relationships: Camus | Erik & Graig | Hendrik, Graig | Hendrik & Hero | Luminary, Graig | Hendrik & Marutina | Jade
Comments: 24
Kudos: 35





	Hair Tie That Binds

**Author's Note:**

> Set after the game (post Act 3) and as such includes some indirect spoilers.
> 
> Set some time after [Hero’s Voice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18653860) and includes some spoilers for it, but should be readable as a oneshot.

“El, I love it.” Jade’s voice echoed out from the small changing room at the edge of the shop.

“Are you sure? I can dye it a little darker if you want. It’s not really in your usual color range,” El replied, casually leaning against the counter while they waited.

Hendrik took a moment to marvel at the fact that the Luminary of legend was making their garb with a primary care for fashion rather than durability and defense, and another moment after that to appreciate the fact that their El was speaking as loudly as anyone ever did in casual conversation. He wouldn’t have predicted either outcome back in the days when they all traveled together.

“No, this is good,” Jade insisted. “Different enough from everything else I wear that the copycats won’t be able to keep up when the delegation from Gallopolis gets here for the ball next week. The ninnies think they’ll get an introduction to a rich, exotic foreigner if they manage to be mistaken for me. Maybe they’re right, but the one time it worked so far, it really made things awkward for everybody after the woman just nodded along with everything the ambassador said for an hour.”

“That sounds frustrating,” said El.

“Kind of hilarious, though,” added Erik from where he leaned against the wall, giving the impression of only half paying attention.

“You’re both right. It was frustrating at the time, and a little hilarious a week after the fact. But if I can avoid a repeat, I think it’s for the best,” said Jade.

A bell rang to mark the hour, and Hendrik’s mouth tightened. “Prin—Jade?” he said, barely catching himself. She’d badgered him about using her given name, and he’d finally gotten the hang of using it in private spaces, or when El was their only company. But Erik’s presence in Heliodor was new enough that it kept tipping him into the more formal mode he kept up in front of strangers, and Jade would reprimand him gently in front of their companions and then once again, more pointedly, after the fact.

“I know, I know. El, I’ve got to run. Is it okay if I wear the dress out and leave Hendrik to finish up here?”

“Of course, Jade.”

“Thank you so much, El. Hendrik? You have my purse. You remember what I said?”

“Yes, Jade.” Pay double whatever El asked. Hide the extra or slip it to Erik if El refused. Hendrik might have worried over a more frivolous expenditure of tax money going to a personal friend of theirs, but the copycat issue had been a genuine political nuisance, and even he could tell that the quality of El’s worst work was on par with craftsmen who charged far higher prices. Perhaps Erik might help to finally convince him of the worth of his wares.

Jade rushed out in a flurry of pale blue cloth, gave El a sisterly peck on the cheek and Hendrik a clap on the shoulder, and spun to wave when she reached the door. “Sorry to leave such a mess; I’m expected momentarily. Catch you this weekend?”

“Sure. Bye, Jade!” said El. The door closed behind the princess, and El stepped toward the changing room, looking back over his shoulder. “You ready to try on yours, Hendrik?”

“I am certain that you know my measurements, El. Everything you have ever produced for me has been impeccable.”

“Try them on anyway, Hendrik,” said Erik, impatient. “Otherwise he’ll worry about it all night.”

“Erik,” El protested.

“What? You will.”

El made a face at Erik that Hendrik couldn’t quite interpret, but just in case Erik was correct, Hendrik acquiesced. “Very well. I shall try them on.”

Erik looked Hendrik over and the corners of his mouth turned up. “I still think you should have done one for him in pastel and ruffles, too. They could have matched.”

“It would not be appropriate for my outfit to match what the princess is wearing,” Hendrik said. Then he caught El’s smile as the young man came out of the little room, still folding Jade’s discarded clothing, and Hendrik began to suspect that Erik was having fun at his expense.

Well enough. He appreciated the lighthearted tone of their gatherings in these times of peace, and the fact that they still seemed to tolerate his company when they had no use for his sword arm, but he had not the wit to contribute to his comrades’ banter himself, save as a prop in their jokes. But that was all right. His shoulders were sufficiently broad to bear a bit of humor.

As expected, the new suit fit perfectly. Hendrik humored El by turning in a slow circle, receiving a smile and a nod for his efforts.

“Yeah, yeah, the handsome general, girls are going to be all over him,” said Erik.

“What?” said Hendrik.

“Don’t worry about it, Hendrik,” said El. “The clothes won’t really make a difference.”

Now they were both smiling at him. Maybe even smirking. Whatever the joke was, it was beyond him, so he decided not to acknowledge it. “Well, as I told you, the fit is exactly correct. You have my thanks, El.”

“You’re welcome, Hendrik.”

He obediently cycled through the rest of the additions to his own wardrobe, changed back, and El carefully stacked Jade’s discarded clothing on top of Hendrik’s new outfits while they discussed the price.

“I am merely following orders, El. This is the amount that Jade wishes to give you, and it is a fair price.”

“And I’m telling you, it’s too much. It’s way more than I spent to make it.”

“Goddess.” Erik let out a noisy sigh. “It’s painful to watch. Bargaining done backwards.”

“I’m not going to overcharge our friends, and that’s final,” said El.

Hendrik grunted in defeat over the formal negotiation. He allowed El to take the empty purse out of his hands, count a little pile of coins from the counter back into it, and hand it back to him. Then, as Jade had drilled him, he pretended to put the purse into his belt pouch, but instead, he held it behind his back. A moment later, the weight of it disappeared from his palm, and Erik appeared at his side.

“Well, good to see you, Hendrik,” said Erik. “Guess we’ll see you again next brunch?”

Hendrik hesitated a moment longer than he should have, overthinking how he ought to move his empty hand out of position without seeming awkward, and he finally moved into parade rest with a sharp nod. “Indeed you shall.”

Then he bent over the pile of clothing. He briefly touched the red ribbon coiled on top, making sure it was settled and safe from being creased, because he knew it had belonged to Jade’s mother and held a deep sentimental value for her. He carefully lifted the stack in his arms, said his farewell, and headed back toward the castle.

The bundle was large enough to slightly obscure his vision. He made it halfway home before someone out of his sight bumped into him and produced a feminine yelp, and he stumbled and skipped sideways, struggling to stay upright without dropping anything and without trampling his victim.

“Oh, Hendrik. I never expected you to resort to throwing yourself into my arms to try to get my attention,” said an unpleasantly familiar voice.

“Lady Druzy. My apologies,” he said curtly. “Are you injured?”

The noblewoman’s face came into view at his side. “I do not suppose you would carry me home while your arms are already full. No, I believe I am intact.”

“Good.”

Her attention lingered on the folded dress on top of his bundle, then dropped to the ground. “Oh, but you did make me drop my ribbon in the dust. How unfortunate.”

She dipped out of sight, and Hendrik reflexively looked for Jade’s ribbon, and he gasped in dismay as Druzy stood up again, wearing a small smile and holding the ribbon in her hands.

“Lady Druzy, I believe that is Ja—the princess’s ribbon,” he said, nearly speaking improperly in his anxiousness.

“Oh, no. This is definitely my ribbon. Did you lose one, too?”

“Please, Lady Druzy. It holds great sentimental value for her. It belonged to the late queen.”

“Mm. Well, I’ll be sure to let you know if I find Ja-the-princess’s ribbon anywhere. Best of luck to you, Hendrik, dear.” Druzy’s smile widened as she backed away, used her free hand to spread her skirt in a sloppy curtsey, and then she turned and sauntered away, ribbon in hand.

Hendrik watched her go, mouth hanging open in befuddlement. This was thievery, surely, or fraud, or...He looked down over his shoulder and spun in a circle in an attempt to make sure that Jade’s ribbon really wasn’t lying on the ground nearby to prove Druzy’s story true, but of course it wasn’t.

This was his fault. Druzy must still be mad at him over events that had happened years before. She’d once invited Hendrik to escort her to a ball immediately after she’d finished insulting Jasper, and Hendrik had seen fit to make a particularly boorish retort involving his preference for the company of horses over hers.

So when he dropped off the rest of his burden at the castle, assembled a hefty purse, and walked over to Druzy’s manor house, he was distraught but not surprised over how the encounter went. “No, I couldn’t possibly sell this ribbon. It’s a family heirloom,” Druzy said, raising a hand to the braid she wore and the ribbon which was, insufferably, now affixed to the end of it. “But that’s a heavy purse you’ve brought. I might be able to sell you a nice horse.”

“No, thank you,” said Hendrik. He hesitated, and then in desperation, he waded into the terrifying depths of a level of interaction he’d hoped he’d never have to engage in with her. “Lady Druzy, I have the impression that I have given offense, and you have not forgiven me. Please understand that I was upset because of what you said about my friend on the day I turned you down. I did not intend for you to be angry at me forever after.”

Druzy opened her mouth and stared at him for a moment, then laughed. “Go home, Hendrik,” she said sharply, and she closed the door in his face.

Defeated, he retreated back to the castle and his quarters to collapse despondently into a chair.

If he was dealing with any other person in the city besides Druzy, surely he would be able to come to some sort of agreement. He had a reputation for heroism and fairness, and even those who failed to value those qualities still tended to have an interest in getting on his good side, given his rank and his proximity to the royal family. But the woman clearly held a grudge, and he was out of ideas on how to resolve the situation amicably.

Jade would be devastated.

The idea of using his station flashed through his head, a mental image of going to arrest the woman, taking the ribbon, releasing her afterwards. Then he shuddered and dismissed the idea immediately. He should be demoted for even thinking of it. It might be barely possible to prove ownership, even if she continued to contest it, but a single ribbon was not worth making a full arrest, even if it could possibly be considered theft since he’d dropped it in the first place. The scandal of it would be a headache that nobody wanted, probably not even Druzy herself, and the whole idea bordered on an abuse of power.

Jade would put on a brave face, but he knew she loved that ribbon.

Maybe there was another way. One more thing he hadn’t tried. One more thing that had a chance to work without getting out of hand. It was risky, and wildly out of character for him, and if Druzy hadn’t taken something that didn’t belong to her, he would never have considered it.

But Jade sometimes took the ribbon with her when she went to stand at her mother’s grave, and she smoothed it through her fingers over and over, and then she would tie it into her hair with a little smile before she left.

So he took a deep breath, and he took a piece of parchment, and he wrote.

_Please meet me in the alley west of the square at sundown tonight. Come alone.  
A Friend_

He folded it, addressed it, and took it to one of his men. “Please see that this gets delivered discreetly. Plainclothes. Unopened.”

“Yes, sir!”

He spent the rest of the afternoon alternately pacing around his room and rifling through his wardrobe, too distracted to sit down with the supply lists he was supposed to be reviewing. He finally settled on a simple dark blue tunic and black trousers that El had promised would be suitable if he had to attempt to blend in in another town. Not too fancy. Not too eye-catching.

His thoughts kept circling around the ribbon, and as usually happened when he spent too long thinking over a matter that did not lend itself to immediate action or a useful expansion on tactics, his mind wandered into the language of the subject, folding the words over in his head.

Out of long-established habit, he sat down at his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled the lid off a box inside, ignoring the faded inscription that read: “If Sir Hendrik should die in battle or illness, please honor his memory by burning this box and all its contents without inspection.” He rummaged under the stack of magazines inside and pulled out a worn and faded journal.

He was going to need a new one, soon, but there were still a handful of empty pages near the end. He found the latest entry, which had practically handed itself to him the day before:

_The stable master’s voice sounded quite horse this morning._

But he did not smile at all as he reached for a pen to make a new entry.

__

_Jade’s ribbon:_  


  * _Hairloom_
  * _The hair tie that binds_



__

Today, the exercise failed to bring him the usual sense of guilty pleasure, and his eyes stung as he blotted the page dry and replaced the book into its hiding spot.

  


* * *

  


As the sky began to fade, Hendrik headed toward his requested meeting spot, breaking away from the main streets and passing through the edges of the city on his way. There was no one present when he arrived, so he crossed his arms and craned his neck, looking around and feeling anxious.

The sun went down, and he started to regret the fact that he hadn’t brought a torch with him, in between worrying over the fact that he was still alone. Perhaps he should have been more descriptive about the meeting spot. Perhaps the note was still unopened.

Then he jumped at the sound of a voice. “Oh, hey, is that you, Hendrik? What are you doing all the way out here?”

“Erik! You came!”

A beat of silence. “Hendrik, did you send me a note today?”

“Yes. I need your help.”

More silence. “Hendrik…” Erik stopped, then sighed loudly. “Nevermind.”

“What? What is it?”

“Hendrik, that was the sketchiest note I have ever seen. I’m carrying five daggers, and I just spent half an hour scouting for whoever was trying to lure me into a trap.”

“Oh. That is...Because of my note? Hm. I apologize.”

“Whatever. It’s fine. Just, I don’t know. Put a code word in it or something next time. Chickenhead. All right? Just sign it ‘from Chickenhead’ instead of ‘a friend’ and I’ll know.”

Hendrik sighed, but if this was to be his penance for another misstep, so be it. “Very well.”

“Hm.” That sounded a little bit like a laugh, and Hendrik hoped he might be forgiven. “Okay, what’s the deal? You’re shopping for a present for El and you don’t know what to get him? Tell me it’s present shopping.”

“Ah, no. Although, his birthday is coming up, is it not? Perhaps...”

“Nevermind. Just spit it out. Why’d you summon me here?”

“Well. It is, you might say, complicated.”

“You’re going to ask me to steal something, aren’t you?”

“Ah. Kind of. After a fashion.”

“Kind of steal something after a fashion?”

“Yes.”

Silence, then, “I was going to just say no, but I’m curious what counts as kind of stealing something after a fashion.”

“I dropped Jade’s ribbon and a noblewoman picked it up and refuses to give it back. It does not belong to her, but I have tried everything to get her to return it, and nothing is sufficient. I need to get it back before Jade has time to be distressed by its absence.” Once he began the confession, the words all came out in a rush.

“You lost Jade’s ribbon.”

“Yes.”

“Her mom’s ribbon.”

“Yes.”

“She loves that ribbon.”

“Yes! I know that! It is in the hands of that harridan and it is my fault and I do not know what else to do besides simply take back what she holds that is not hers, in such a way that she cannot prove I am in the wrong any more than I can prove she is in the wrong.”

Erik shifted, the silhouette of his head tilting in the faint light of the houses down the street. “You’re really serious. The great general, the shield of Heliodor, beacon of justice, is asking me to break the law and my own new rules and steal a thing for him.”

“She effectively stole it in the first place. We would only be returning it to its rightful place.”

“Mm. You want me to break into her home and take a thing from her possession.”

“...Yes. Please.”

A longer silence. Hendrik clenched his hands together until they hurt.

“If I’m in this, you’re in this too,” Erik said at last.

“As you say,” said Hendrik, his hopes rising.

“You come along and pitch in yourself. You follow all my orders.”

“Very well.”

“If I end up in the dungeon, you’re going there with me. For the exact same duration.”

“Agreed.”

“Give me your word.”

“You have it.”

“Huh. And you’d better buy El a really nice birthday present. You’ll have to go with me to the market so I can show you the cookware set he keeps making eyes at.”

“Consider it done.”

Erik shook his head, then stretched his arms in front of himself and cracked his knuckles. “Fine. Okay. Let’s do this. Who’s the mark?”

Hendrik heaved a sigh of relief. “There is a noblewoman. The Lady Druzy.”

“Druzy? Huh. That might even be doable tonight.”

“I had hoped we might do it as soon as possible.”

“Well, for future reference, it’s not the greatest idea to rush these things, but...oh, nevermind. Neither of us is going to do this again, anyway, right?”

“I should hope it will not be necessary.”

“Right. Anyway, I happen to know that Druzy isn’t really big on overblown security measures, so I’m just barely willing to consider doing this with minimal preparation. I need to pick up a few things, and then we can take a little walk over there.”

“We are going to undertake the mission immediately?” Hendrik asked, suffering a sudden spike of anxiety now that the plan was becoming reality. Easier to face a dragon than this unpredictable skullduggery and moral ambiguity.

Erik shrugged. “We won’t go in on the first pass. Think of it as a little scouting before the mission. Then we’re going to want to take some time for a little training.”

“Ah. A prudent plan,” said Hendrik, somewhat reassured by the familiar strategic structure.

He followed Erik through the darkened streets. “Wait over here,” Erik instructed, and Hendrik obediently wedged himself into a corner while Erik slipped down an alley.

This waiting was far more comfortable than earlier in the evening. This time, there was no uncertainty born of his own clumsy attempt to initiate a secret mission. This time, he knew with complete faith that he was following the lead of a dependable companion, wiser than he in the matter at hand. It struck him as like unto the old days of his early career, and the best of his missions taken in cooperation with Jasper, back when they both wanted the same thing, and they both still trusted in each other, and they complemented each other like a sword and a shield.

Erik reappeared before long, carrying a nondescript bag. He rummaged inside and came up with a pair of hoods. “We’ll wear these. Our hair’s too recognizable otherwise if someone catches us in the light. Not much we can do about your build, although there’s one or two outsiders that come through occasionally that are almost as big as you, so I guess there’s a scrap of deniability. Anyway, come on, I want to see your rope climbing.”

“You have seen me climb a rope, Erik.”

“Yeah, but I want to see how quietly you can do it.”

“Oh. Very well.”

Erik led him to another alleyway, a dead-end surrounded by walls. He dug back into the pack and brought out a rope with a grappling hook.

“Okay, let me...Actually, just boost me up, and I’ll secure it,” Erik said softly. “No need to make more weird noises than we have to.”

Hendrik obliged, making a footstool of his hands, then proceeded to learn that while he could swarm up a rope with the best of his men, he had never spent a sufficient amount of time studying stealth. It took several tries and the removal of his boots before Erik said, “That’s probably as good as we’re going to get. It should be fine as long as there’s no guard with line of sight and everyone else is asleep.”

“You do not think that there is a risk of a private security patrol?”

“Probably not. Druzy doesn’t pay for the best guards, and odds are good they’ll be even sloppier than they’ve been in the past, since word’s going around that crime’s down in general. Folks aren’t really eager to fall on the wrong side of the law just at the moment, thanks to a certain someone coming back to town and going around looking all stern and intimidating.”

“Of whom do you speak?”

Erik snorted. “You, helmet-head. The pillar of righteousness himself. Not like when, well, when there was mixed leadership, and there was a chance of bribing your way out of trouble. All the usual troublemakers are tiptoeing around now. They’ll talk about how all the nobility are letting down their guard, but they’re still a little too afraid to take advantage of it. Unlike you and me, apparently.”

“You are still in contact with the criminal element?”

“Look, I haven’t got a clean history and you know that, Hendrik. There are people that know me here, and some of them have turned over a new leaf too as far as I know, and I tell everyone I’m retired and I don’t want to hear about anything they’re actually going to do, but El told me I should try to reconnect with old friends, so what am I supposed to do? Don’t follow me and use it against them, okay? Not everyone I know has been into anything shady, either, but everyone hears things in the slums.”

“I understand,” said Hendrik after a moment, grasping the fact that Erik’s careful reply meant that Hendrik would not be obligated to go forth and arrest any of Erik’s friends. “I apologize for prying.”

“Hm. I get why you’d ask. Just...don’t, in the future.”

“Understood.”

Hendrik mused that it would also be beyond hypocritical of him to hold Erik accountable for his past, now, between the bond they had formed as comrades protecting the world, and the nature of the favor he was requesting this very night.

They came to the street where Druzy’s manor stood. The perimeter of the grounds boasted a neat stone wall with decorative but sturdy-looking metal spikes along the top. They strolled past casually, Erik taking up position adjacent to the wall, and he lowered his head and extended a hand to trace the stonework as they walked by a small door connecting the alley to the interior.

Then Erik took them a few blocks away before he spoke aloud. “Okay. Looks like they haven’t changed the lock since, uh, since it was installed. Shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s go take a look from higher ground.”

This time Erik led him around to a pair of tall houses, climbed up a drainpipe, obscured the stars for an instant while he leapt from one roof to another, and lowered a rope for Hendrik from the top of the second house.

“Sit down halfway down the roof here so your silhouette won’t show against the stars,” Erik said in a low voice, and Hendrik obeyed.

He squinted, trying to figure out what they were looking for. After a minute, he thought he recognized the shape of the manor. “That is her home, is it not?” he whispered.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. That’s her home, and that’s her bedroom there where the light is, see?”

“Where?”

“On the left side of the building.” Erik pointed. “Looks like she’s got a candle in there around the corner.”

“Oh. I believe I see.” Hendrik thought he could just barely make out a hint of light in the shadowy form of the building if he didn’t look directly at it.

“So if we wait for her to let it go dark, and then we wait a while longer, we should be good to go. Can you see how the side door in the wall isn’t that far from her window?”

“I cannot, but I shall take your word for it.”

“Right. Well, it should be a pretty easy job to get in and out. The trick will just be staying quiet and finding the ribbon.”

“You do not think I shall be too much of a burden?” Hendrik asked, self-conscious about his evidently inferior night vision. Knight vision, popped into his head, but he carefully repressed the phrase. He would add it to the journal, later.

“There’s a risk, of course. There always is. But I’m pretty sure you can boost me up to the second story without having to throw the hook, and that’s going to be quieter, so entry will be safer, as long as I don’t leave you outside where you could be spotted if the door guard decides to stretch his legs. So it ought to even out.”

“Very well. I shall trust your judgement.”

“Hm.” Erik shifted in place, running a hand over the back of his head, then made a small noise and sat up straight. “There, that’s the light going out. Let’s just wait for a little bit now.” He laid back against the roof, and Hendrik uncertainly followed his lead.

“Are we to take a nap?” he asked, uneasy at the prospect of trying to sleep on a rooftop. Perhaps he might stand watch while Erik rested.

“No, we’re marking the stars.” Erik pointed. “When that one hits the chimney from where I’m looking, we’ll go.”

“Oh. Of course.”

They fell silent for a long moment, and Hendrik started to worry about whether he ought to be making small talk. It had never been his strength, and even less so with Erik, who usually stuck to El’s side like glue, or bantered with Veronica in a way that always left Hendrik wondering whether they were about to begin fighting in earnest or if they might instead break into laughter. Usually it turned out to be the latter.

His own sense of humor was not fit for public consumption, he thought regretfully.

Erik interrupted his musings. "You said you tried talking to her, right? What happened?"

"Druzy? She declined my offer of payment, and she laughed at my apology, and then she shut the door."

“Really? How much did you offer?”

Hendrik relayed the afternoon’s events in as much detail as he could recall, and Erik scratched his head. “That’s not really how I’d expect most people to react to the famous Hero of Heliodor. You got history with her?”

“I am afraid that it is so. I believe that she still bears a grudge over events that occurred many years past.”

“What happened?”

Hendrik sighed. “There was a day that a ball was scheduled for later in the evening, and Jasper and I had not planned to attend, because we were running training exercises. However, the weather was too foul for the work we had planned, and we returned home early. Jasper had gotten the worst of the mud, as his horse had thrown him. The Lady Druzy saw Jasper enter the castle, and she asked if he had been practicing his dancing in a pigsty.”

Erik made a peculiar sounding cough. “Sorry, go on.”

“He was normally most fastidious, and even I could tell that she meant to give offense. Then, after he passed by, she had the audacity to turn to me and ask if I would escort her to the ball that same evening.”

“And?”

“And I turned her down.”

“And she’s still mad about that?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

"What exactly did you say to her back then? Do you remember?"

"It is engraved upon my memory. Would that I could forget it. Would that she should forget it as well."

"Okay, now you’ve got to tell me."

Hendrik cleared his throat, self-conscious, but he had given his word to follow Erik's orders through the night, and a knight did not break his word. "Neigh. Neigh, I am going to be busy at the stables. I shall not spend an evening saddled with company such as yours."

Even as he braced for Erik’s disgust, some treacherous little part of his heart still felt pride in the comeback. He’d gotten a rare laugh out of Jasper for it, peals of laughter, in fact, despite Jasper’s usual assurances that puns were the basest form of humor and he must endeavor to keep them to himself. He had thought that perhaps it was worth making a fool of himself, for he could not think of a better way to support his friend in the moment. 

Erik hummed, then broke into muffled laughter. “Saddled? Neigh? Hendrik, did you come up with that yourself?”

“I am afraid so.”

“Just on the spur of the...Goddess. Spur of the moment?”

“Ah, I suppose more or less on the...spur of the moment. Though I may well have been contemplating equestrian words on the trek back to the castle.”

“Well, that’s still pretty great. Man, I would have loved to see her face. What did…” A small sigh. “What did Jasper do?”

“He laughed, to excess. He did not even reprimand me later for the use of my poor humor, as he usually would.”

“Wait, Jasper told you not to make jokes?”

“I was never very proficient at it. I have only ever had a knack for making a simple play on words, which is hardly appropriate for sophisticated company.”

“Jasper told you that?”

“Yes. He was once a good friend to me. A brother, really.”

“Jasper was a…” Erik’s teeth came together with a click. “Not the friend you deserved, Hendrik.”

“I understand that he was opposed to you and our comrades, once, as was I. It is a pity that he never had the opportunity to spend time in your company as I have.”

“Spent pretty much as much time in his company as I ever wanted to, thanks.”

“You did? When was that?”

“In...Oh. Didn’t anyone ever tell you about Gondolia?”

“Before we met as El’s comrades?”

“Yeah. We ran into Jasper there.”

“Ah. I suppose that would not have been a very peaceful event.”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“What happened?”

“Uh. He cornered us, and...You know what? Never mind. It’s not really important now. It’s over and he’s, well. I’m sure you saw something in him, anyway. But, Hendrik, don’t put too much weight on anything he told you, okay? Some people like puns. Some people like teasing each other with bad puns, too. Jade might kill me if you start using them on her all the time, but El and I won’t be bothered.”

Hendrik’s mouth fell open. “Truly?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Hendrik hesitated, then tried, “I had thought to apologize earlier for my knight vision.”

“Huh? It’s okay, as long as you stick close, you don’t really have to…” Erik cut himself off. “Knight vision?” Then he broke into laughter again and bumped his fist into Hendrik’s arm. “You came up with that tonight? Are you just secretly thinking of puns all the time?”

“Not all the time. Some days I do not think of any at all.”

“Hendrik!” Erik pressed a hand over his forehead and snickered again. “Goddess. You have to start telling them to El. He loves puns. I guess Gemma’s grandpa used to tell those kinds of jokes to both of them and it stuck.”

“Indeed? I suppose, if you are certain it would not go amiss, I could make an attempt,” Hendrik said. Jasper had been correct about many things, but in recent years, it had become apparent that Jasper was not, in fact, infallible. Perhaps in this small thing, he could have been in error, as well.

“Yeah. Do that,” said Erik.

After another moment, Erik cleared his throat. “Okay, the stars have moved far enough we can start getting ready to go. We’ll just go in the side door, you boost me up to the window, I’ll drop a rope for you. Once you climb up and in, check for any tables next to you and then step to the side so you won’t be seen blocking the view in or out of the window. Just stay still and quiet while I look around for the ribbon.”

“Understood.”

They headed towards the manor, Erik muttering terse reminders about what to do in case of trouble. “If somebody tries to grab you, you can probably knock them down. In fact, if someone tries to grab me, I’d appreciate it there, too.” Hendrik followed the faint sound of his footsteps and the low sound of his voice as much as the shadow of his movement.

Then Erik went silent as they approached their destination, and Hendrik felt his heart in his throat as they paused in the nearby alley and he removed his boots again. As they moved in toward the little side gate, he felt like someone would find them at any moment, though he knew well enough that the guards would not be spending a great deal of time patrolling the alleys adjacent to the noble manors these days; they were more likely to interrupt something scandalous than illegal, and they’d get no thanks for doing that job.

But Erik paused in front of the gate and opened it as smoothly as if he had a proper key, cautiously opened it without making any noise, and touched Hendrik’s arm to signal that it was safe to go through. Erik closed the gate after them, then led them toward the side of the building.

Erik tugged him into position, and Hendrik thought he could make out a little rough shadow along the wall above them where the window must be. Hendrik obediently planted his feet and braced his hands to make a solid footstep, Erik climbed nimbly up into his grasp as if he were a tree with low-hanging branches, and he boosted Erik the rest of the way up. Sure enough, he was able to raise his smaller companion to a sufficient height to grasp the window ledge above them, and Erik lifted himself up and away.

The rope slithered down for him a moment later. Hendrik tugged and ascended, anxious over every hint of sound from his hands or feet or clothes, but he thought he was doing at least as well as when Erik had coached him through this part.

He levered himself through the window, another challenge since it was just wide enough for his shoulders, but this too proved to be within his capacity. He stayed hunched over in the gloom and moved out from in front of the window, trying not to make a silhouette that anyone might see.

Erik disappeared into the dark, and Hendrik waited. He frowned at a soft sound that might have come from outside the room, and then suddenly Erik’s shadowy figure appeared in front of him, waving his hands animatedly. Hendrik stared at him in bewilderment.

“She’s not here! We need to—”

Erik’s urgent whisper cut off as the door to the room opened with a sudden light, a candle that seemed like sunlight in the darkness, and the Lady Druzy herself carrying it, clad in a nightgown and a dressing robe over the top. She was still wearing her braid and the ribbon at the end of it.

Hendrik and Erik both froze while Druzy stepped into the room unaware, turning to close the door behind herself. She meandered into the room, setting the candle on the table next to the bed.

Then she turned, and spotted them, and she sucked in a breath, and Hendrik realized she was about to scream only when she didn’t actually do it.

“Hendrik?” His name burst out of her in a strangled voice, and she clutched her outer robe closed with one hand and gripped a bedpost with the other.. “What are you doing here? And with...Who are you?”

“Ah. Er. Lady Druzy. That is, I am…” Hendrik rubbed the back of his head with one hand and fell silent, failing to come up with anything remotely helpful.

“In a lady’s bedchambers in the dead of night. You realize I could scream and my men at arms will come running.” Druzy released the bedpost and straightened, her expression shifting in a way Hendrik couldn’t interpret. “Who is this with you?”

“This was not my companion’s idea. I forced him to come with me,” Hendrik said. “Please, let the blame fall on me alone.”

“Henny, is this the woman you wanted me to meet?” Erik suddenly spoke in an oddly high-pitched voice, sounding entirely unlike himself, and he took hold of Hendrik’s arm. “You didn’t tell me she was beautiful, darling.”

Hendrik looked down at Erik, bewildered. Even after they’d both spent so much time traveling with Sylvando, he’d never heard Erik use such an endearment, least of all aimed at Hendrik.

Erik tilted his head up toward Hendrik so his face was angled away from Druzy for a moment, and he whispered, “Kneel.”

Hendrik had agreed to follow Erik’s orders, after all, and he was well out of his depth here besides. He knelt.

Erik stepped behind him and draped himself over Hendrik’s shoulders, one arm dangling down in front of Hendrik’s chest, the other bent to allow his hand to curl in front of his own face where it suddenly appeared next to Hendrik’s. “Say what I tell you to say,” he whispered. “Say: I came to beg your forgiveness.”

“I came to beg your forgiveness,” Hendrik said, and he obediently continued repeating Erik’s words. “I could not sleep, because I kept thinking about how mad you were. I needed to make sure you understood why I couldn’t return your reflections.”

“Affections!” whispered Erik.

“Affections.”

“He thought you wouldn’t believe him unless I came along, honey,” said Erik at a more audible speaking volume, but still in that peculiar tone.

Druzy frowned. “So you’re telling me you aren’t interested in women.”

“Yes,” Hendrik agreed as Erik prompted him.

“Does that mean, back then, you and Jasper also…”

"Hell," breathed Erik in his ear, then, "Say yes."

"Hell, yes," said Hendrik.

He felt Erik spasm in a small, sudden movement, and Druzy raised her eyebrows and shifted her gaze. “A shame what happened with our good Sir Jasper. You must miss him dearly.”

Erik twitched again, and pulled away, leaving only one hand on his shoulder. Hendrik glanced at him and found him with a hand clamped over his mouth and his eyes closed.

“We were very close,” Hendrik admitted honestly, for lack of any better instruction. “I miss him every day.” Erik’s hand squeezed his shoulder. Was that supposed to be encouragement? Sympathy?

“Must have been hard to replace him,” said Druzy, and he thought for a moment that she was smiling, but it was hard to tell.

“He is irreplaceable,” Hendrik said. He felt his eyes sting at the unexpected reminder of his loss.

Now Druzy was certainly smiling. “So you have brought your...companion here to try to get you out of trouble, and then you spend the whole time talking about how he will never live up to your dead lover? I believe I might be grateful that I never achieved your interest.”

“Ah…”

Druzy untied the ribbon from her hair and walked up to them. She held it out, and Hendrik reflexively put his hand out to recieve it, his heart rising despite his confusion, but she jerked it away from him. “Ah! I’m giving this to him,” she said, turning to Erik, who pulled away from Hendrik, squinted at Druzy, and reached out to take the ribbon with his free hand. His other hand was still pressed over his mouth.

“Good luck, sweetie,” said Druzy, patting Erik on the shoulder. “I hope you enjoy this priceless family heirloom as much as I did.” Then she looked at Hendrik. “If that’s all?”

“Ah. Yes, Lady Druzy. We, ah, we shall be going.”

“Very good.”

He stood still for a moment, uncertain how to properly exit the room, until Erik stashed the ribbon in a pocket and then pushed him back towards the window. Obediently, he ducked and struggled through the small opening, managing after a couple of minutes and some agitated gesturing from Erik to arrange his body in such a way as to let him get his legs through the window so that he could lower himself down and safely drop the remaining distance to the ground. Druzy’s soft laughter followed him down.

Erik took much less time with his own exit, and Hendrik caught him out of the air as he dropped.

“My hero,” whispered Erik as he regained his feet, and then he spasmed and put a hand in front of his mouth again.

“Are you well?” Hendrik whispered. Erik shook his head, then nodded and shoved Hendrik toward the little door in the outer wall.

Erik led him down four long dark alleyways before finally he finally stopped, opened his mouth, glanced at Hendrik, and then bent over double with his hands braced on his knees and began violently shaking.

“Erik! What is wrong?” Hendrik frowned, then anxiously began to summon his healing magic.

Erik stood up, wheezed, glanced at his face again, gasped, “Hell, yes,” and Hendrik finally realized Erik was simply stuck in a fit of smothered laughter as he staggered sideways to brace himself against a nearby wall.

Finally Hendrik relaxed and smiled. Everything had worked out for the best, and in his relief, he was pleased that his companion had even found something to laugh about in their ordeal, even if it was over Hendrik’s own awkwardness. In that regard, Erik was truly not so different from Jasper after all, back in the days when they had fallen into one boyhood mishap after another. Jasper, too, would guide him into and out of trouble, and then laugh at him for days.

Erik finally recovered, taking a deep breath. He glanced up at Hendrik, then raised his eyebrows. “You know that was all an act, right? I was ready to try to run, but I wasn’t sure you could get through the window in a hurry, and then she was acting like she was willing to give us a chance to talk our way out, so I thought, ‘What would Sylv do?’ And that was the only thing I could think of, and then I thought it was all going wrong…” He snorted, then cleared his throat. “But I guess it worked anyway.”

“We acquired the ribbon, and we escaped without any lasting complications. I could not have asked for more. I am in your debt, Erik.”

“Huh.” Erik straightened his hood. “I don’t know about ‘no lasting complications.’ I wouldn’t trust her to keep that story to herself. You’re going to get a reputation for only being into guys, and...oh, no.”

“It will not be the first time a rumor has been spread about me. I shall survive.”

“Goddess, I hope it was dark enough she won’t ever recognize me. No offense, Hendrik, but I’m really not into you that way.”

“What? Into...Ah! No. Of course. No apology is necessary.”

Erik shook his head, then fell silent for long enough that Hendrik started to worry that he was supposed to have said something else, but then Erik spoke. “I didn’t expect you to try to take the fall all by yourself,” he said.

“You could not have supported my weight, and the drop from the window was not so far on the way down.”

“No, I mean when you told her that you’d forced me to come with you. You tried to take all the blame on yourself.”

“Oh.”

“So, thanks for that.”

“It was only fair. You would not have been there at all if not for me. Besides, I would be a poor brother in arms if I ever did not make an effort to defend you if it was in my power to do so.”

“Brother in arms?” Erik tilted his head. “You call everyone that after you go on a midnight heist with them?”

“We have been through far more than a single mission together, Erik. The days when I thought you a common thief are long past, after I have witnessed so much of your loyalty, courage, skill, and your growth into a man of great honor. There is no one else I would have trusted to lead me through tonight’s work.”

Yet another long silence to make Hendrik worry whether his words were too much, or too little, before Erik cleared his throat. “Yeah, I guess you aren’t quite such a stick in the mud as I used to think, yourself. Uh, hey, listen. Try and stay out of trouble, but if anything like this ever comes up again, don’t even think about trying to get anyone else to help with it. You can’t trust anyone who’s only in it for the money, okay?”

“Of course. My thanks, Erik. I shall endeavor not to be a burden upon you again if I can avoid it.”

“Hey, it was all part of the deal. Same day, next week, noon, we’re going to hit up the market, right?”

“Shopping. For El. Yes. Let us do so.”

“Good. You’re going to want to bring a bigger purse than you did for the clothes this morning.”

“As you say,” Hendrik agreed, clueless about the price of cookware.

“Okay. Okay, I gotta get home before it’s too late to sneak back in. You good to return the ribbon yourself?”

“Yes, I imagine that should be no great difficulty by comparison.”

“Okay. Night, Hendrik.”

“Goodnight, Erik.”

  


* * *

  


After much deliberation over how to return the ribbon to Jade, Hendrik decided that the business of sneaking about was not ideal, but it was not so difficult as he had imagined, either. It should have worked at Druzy’s manor if not for ill luck, and he had certain other advantages here.

He checked the guard postings, the schedule for the royal family, and he donned his identity-obscuring hood and plainclothes to sneak into Jade’s quarters, where he deposited the ribbon in its proper place, and then he snuck out, no one the wiser. A perfect plan and a flawless execution. It was the last time he intended to ever do such a thing, of course, but it was good to know that he was capable if the need arose. He wavered between pride and guilt for the rest of the day and night.

Jade wore her ribbon the next day when he walked into their scheduled brunch with Erik and El, and Hendrik smiled a little to see it, until Jade turned to him with a wider smile than usual, and El did as well, but Erik only glanced at him and then looked away, running a hand through his hair.

“Good morning, Hendrik. Erik’s been telling us some interesting stories today.”

Erik sighed at the ceiling. “Sorry, man, I had to drop off Mia, and El got here first, and they compared notes, and then Jade got me with a trick question. Cat’s out of the bag. Sorry.”

“Wasn’t terribly difficult to figure out something odd was going on when you traipsed into my room wearing a hood screaming ‘Thief!’ and your boots stomping ‘Hendrik!’” Jade said.

“You...You knew?” Hendrik said.

“I was behind my dressing screen at the time. You're lucky I recognized you, so you didn't get a foot to the back of the head.”

“Oh.” Hendrik dropped his face into his hand, mortified. “I did not realize. I...I do not deserve your forgiveness, but…”

Jade chuckled and flipped a hand at him as though knocking away the pending apology. “Anyway, I didn’t know Erik was in on it until El told me he’d been out late the night before, and it wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together after that.”

“Erik told us about the heist,” said El.

“Which was a fantastic story that might possibly earn you your forgiveness after all,” interjected Jade.

“But he said we had to wait for you to get here before we could hear any of the puns,” El finished, leaning forward, propping his chin in his hands, smiling.

Hendrik took a long moment to study the expectant faces surrounding him. He found the room harder to read than any battlefield and far more intimidating, but he looked once more at Erik as a mad idea popped into his head, and he chose to place his faith once more in his young comrade.

“I suppose...I suppose it was inevitable that when we met for brunch, the tooth would come out,” he tried.

El let out a shout of laughter, and Erik grinned at El. “I told you so,” he said, and then gestured a thumbs-up at Hendrik.

Jade reacted last, apparently stunned for a moment. But finally she snorted, then broke into laughter of her own. She stood up to smack Hendrik on the arm, then tugged at his elbow to guide him toward the table.

As he sat down and tentatively entered the narrative, he discovered to his astonishment that his stealth skills might be effectively useless, but his humor was not unwelcome after all. He felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the tea that accompanied the meal, as for once, he was the one to bring laughter to his companions’ faces through his own wit.

  


* * *

  


When Hendrik returned to his room that afternoon, he took out the pun journal from its hiding place, flipped to the last empty pages, and looked at them without seeing them. Perhaps he did not in fact need to procure a new, empty journal, if he might tell them to his friends as he thought of them.

Then again, El appeared to appreciate them so much that perhaps he might make a gift of it. He would fulfill the bargain and go shopping with Erik for a birthday gift this year, but there were the winter holidays and future years to think of as well. He looked into the drawer and dug up the collection of older, completed journals nestled at the bottom of the pile, and for the first time, instead of a sigh of shame, the sight drew forth a smile of pride.

He picked up his pen and set about recording the day’s new insights.

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for the invention of the phrase "Hendrik’s Pun Journal" goes to [omgitsaddyc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/omgitsaddyc) (from a comment so long ago it’s been nearly lost to the winds of time)


End file.
